On the second anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar, the South East Asia Journalists Unions (SEAJU) strongly condemned the military junta’s continued gross violations of human rights, persecution of journalists and attacks on independent media. The region’s media unions called on the international community to increase pressure on Myanmar’s military to guarantee the safety of all Burmese citizens and cease the state-sanctioned violence, arbitrary arrests and draconian laws that have suppressed activists and stifled freedom of expression.
The Committee to Protect Journalists described the jailing, sentencing, and granting early release to journalists in Myanmar as a "cruel carousel" and a "form of psychological warfare aimed at breaking the will of independent media outlets."
On 2 November, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, NGO Free Expression Myanmar (FEM) remembers nine journalists murdered in Myanmar.
Voice of America journalist Sithu Aung Myint was sentenced to three years in prison with hard labour on October 7 for ‘inciting government employees to commit crimes’. The International Federation of Journalists (IJF) condemns the sentencing and calls on Myanmar’s military junta to cease its persecution of journalists for their independent reportage.